REPORT OF THE

NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS COMMITTEE

ADDENDUM

1. ACTION ITEMS.

a. Sports Committee Chair Appointments.

(1) Recommendation. Approve the following sports committee chair appointments:

(a) Baseball Committee. Eric Etchison, coach, Maryville College.

(b) Women?s Golf Committee. Stephen Fritz, director of athletics, University of St. Thomas (Minnesota).

(c) Women?s Ice Hockey Committee. Al Bean, director of athletics, University of Southern Maine.

(d) Men?s Ice Hockey Committee. Russ Reilly, director of athletics, Middlebury College.

(e) Women? Lacrosse Committee. Laura Moan, coach, State University College at Oneonta.

(f) Rowing Committee. Judy McMullen, associate director of athletics, Lewis and Clark College.

(g) Men?s and Women?s Swimming and Diving Committee. Peggy Carl, men?s and women?s swimming coach, Occidental College.

(h) Men?s and Women?s Tennis National Committee. John Shackelford, men?s tennis coach, University of the South.

(i) Women?s Tennis Subcommittee. Scott Thielke, coach, Kenyon College.

(2) Rationale. The committee ratified recommendations forwarded by the sports committees.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

b. Women?s Bowling.

(1) Recommendation. Approve modification to the following NCAA bylaws:

(a) Bylaw 17.6.4. That a member institution must conclude all practice and competition (games and scrimmages) in the sport of women?s bowling by the last date of final exams for the regular academic year at the institution.

(b) Bylaw 17.6.5.3. That a member institution may not exempt competition in the bowling national governing body championship and instead a member institution may exempt competition in the NCAA Women?s Bowling Championship.

(2) Rationale. When women?s bowling became a National Collegiate sport, effective April 2003, several Bylaw 17 legislative items were inadvertently overlooked. These legislative changes clarify existing legislation so that the application of playing and practice season legislation for women?s bowling is consistent with other National Collegiate sports.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

c. Women?s Lacrosse Rules Committee.

(1) Recommendation. Approve the creation of an Association-wide NCAA Women?s Lacrosse Rules Committee.

(2) Rationale. The committee believes that women?s lacrosse would benefit from the establishment of a rules committee. The women?s game continues to develop and the Championships Committee would like to see the NCAA membership control its collegiate game (e.g., stick technology and development, boundaries, coaches? boxes, field markings, etc.). NCAA women?s lacrosse currently follows rules written by U.S. Lacrosse.

(3) Budget Impact. None (Association-wide funding).

d. Men?s and Women?s Tennis ? Sunday Start Times (Bylaw 31.4.4.1).

(1) Recommendation. Approve that men?s and women?s tennis be granted a waiver of Bylaw 31.1.4.4.1, effective with the 2004 championships.

(2) Rationale. For preliminary-round competition, a 9 a.m. start time would reduce the possibility of missed class time since teams would be able to return to campus earlier. In addition, the ?not before noon? policy can put student-athletes at risk for heat issues, particularly in the South and Southwestern regions of the country, as team competition can last up to five hours or more.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

e. Basketball Playing Rules Committee ? Three-Point Line and Trapezoid Lane.

(1) Recommendation. Approve the recommendation to adopt the international distance for the three-point line and deny the request to adopt the international trapezoid free-throw/three-second lane.

(2) Rationale. Based on the informal feedback from the membership, there was support for the three point line and no support for the trapezoid lane lines.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

f. Softball Playing Rules Committee ? Swing-Speed Research.

(1) Recommendation. Refer the request to complete research testing on collegiate-aged women softball players to identify the swing-speed range of student-athletes in the collegiate game to the Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee (CSMAS).

(2) Rationale. The committee believed CSMAS would have a better understanding on the necessity of such research.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

g. Softball Playing Rules Committee ? Jewelry Prohibition.

(1) Recommendation. Approve the request to remove the jewelry rule in softball, which previously prohibited any jewelry except medical alert bracelets, barrettes and necklaces, if taped to the body.

(2) Rationale. The committee noted that this rule is unenforceable and makes umpires liable for small or hidden jewelry. Baseball players regularly wear jewelry without incident. The NCAA legal counsel has reviewed and is comfortable with the change.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

h. Men?s and Women?s Track and Field Playing Rules Subcommittee.

(1) Recommendation. Approve the recommendation that the standard outdoor running track be 400 meters or 440 yards in length, and that the standard indoor running track be 200 meters or 220 yards.

(2) Rationale. The committee recognized the need for standard track lengths to be established for both indoor and outdoor tracks to ensure the distinction between both sports.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

i. Individual/Team Sport Automatic-Qualification (AQ) Principles/Timeline.

(1) Recommendation. Endorse the establishment of an individual/team sport AQ process in the sports of cross country, tennis and golf and the following guiding principles effective with the 2006-07 championships:

(a) Establish and maintain a team access ratio of 1:7.5;

(b) Maintain current individual qualifier access and the individual portion of the championship;

(c) Fully fund all championship competition, including the creation or expansion of existing preliminary-round competition;

(d) Establish equitable access for independent institutions through Pool B access;

(e) Commit to draft legislation for the 2005 NCAA Convention, with an effective date of 2006-07.

In addition to the guidelines, the Championship Committee is committed to the following timeline to accomplish this goal:

(a) December 1, 2003. Relevant sports committees forward plans consistent with AQ principles. Plans must address bracket size (including Pools A, B and C), championship format (including all proposed preliminary-round competition) and process for selection of individual participants.

(b) December 1, 2003 ? January 20, 2004. NCAA staff determines financial implications of proposed formats.

(c) January 20, 2003. Championships Committee reviews and approves of proposed formats.

(d) February ? March, 2004. Relevant sports committees share/communicate proposed formats with membership. Sports committees may handle this independently; all communication must be approved by John Williams, NCAA director of championships.

(e) April ? May, 2004. Sports committees finalize AQ plans.

(f) June, 2004. Submission of proposed championships formats forwarded to the Championships Committee for final approval; Championships Committee forwards recommendation for legislation at the 2005 NCAA Convention to the Management Council.

(2) Rationale. The committee believes the principle of championships access for qualifying conferences and independents also is important for individual/team sports. The guiding principles, along with the timeline, will provide ample time for the sports of cross country, tennis and golf to plan and accomplish the goal of applying the AQ principles.

(3) Budget Impact. To be determined.

j. NCAA/NAIA Joint Declaration (Bylaw 31.2.1.4).

(1) Recommendation. Amend Bylaw 31.2.1.4 to revise the declaration date for NCAA/NAIA joint membership from the present mid-September deadline to August 15.

(2) Rationale. The committee believes this is consistent with the requirements for sponsorship database deadlines. In addition, the earlier submission deadline provides sports the opportunity to more appropriately calculate and plan championship pool allocations and to communicate the information to the membership.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

k. Under 50-Mile Project.

(1) Recommendation. Approve a policy to reimburse institutions for ground transportation for travel less than 50 miles from either campus to a local airport or from the destination airport to the host site, effective with the 2003-04 championships for all Division III sports.

(2) Rationale. After a year of review, the committee determined that, based on minimal cost, the policy should be amended to provide such reimbursement for participation in NCAA championships.

(3) Budget Impact. $5,000 - $10,000.

2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

a. 2004-05 and 2005-06 Budget Requests. The Championship Committee reviewed all sports committees' requests and tentatively supported the following for the 2004-06 budget cycle. Formal prioritized budget requests will be forwarded for approval in April. [Attachment]:

(1) Baseball. Predetermined regional sites.

(a) Recommendation. Approve the request to increase the number of predetermined regional sites from two to five.

(b) Rationale. Currently, there are two predetermined regional sites, one in the New England region and one in the South region. The additional predetermined sites would be in the New York, Mideast and Mid-Atlantic regions. This will help with attendance, generate more publicity and provide more time for the host sites to prepare. In addition, in looking to long-range planning with the increase in the number of teams in 2006 due to the ratio change, there will need to be additional sites.

(c) Budget Impact. $31,465.71.

(2) Men?s Golf. Rules officials? expenses.

(a) Recommendation. Approve that the 10 rules officials assigned for the NCAA Division III Men?s Golf Championships receive ground transportation expenses, effective in 2004-05.

(b) Rationale. Currently, the NCAA provides lodging and per diem for the 10 rules officials selected to work the championships. Transportation expenses will enable the committee to continue to secure the top officials for the championships.

(c) Budget Impact. $3,200 for ground transportation for 10 officials.

(3) Women?s Golf. Rules officials? expenses.

(a) Recommendation. Approve that the 10 rules officials assigned for the NCAA Division III Women?s Golf Championships receive ground transportation expenses, effective 2004-05.

(b) Rationale. Currently, the NCAA provides lodging and per diem for the 10 rules officials selected to work the championships. Transportation expenses will enable the committee to continue to secure the top officials for the championships.

(c) Budget Impact. $3,200 for ground transportation for 10 officials.

(4) Women?s Lacrosse. Flights for officials.

(a) Recommendation. Approve that the number of officials? flights be increased from three to six for the entire championship.

(b) Rationale. The sport of women?s lacrosse is growing on a national level from its traditional east coast base and the committee wants to ensure quality officials at every round of the championship. In 2003, a non-nationally ranked official was used as the current flight limit had been reached.

(c) Budget Impact. $1,800 over two years.

(5) Women?s Rowing. Bracket expansion.

(a) Recommendation. Approve the position of two at-large Eight boats be added to the 2005 NCAA Division III Rowing Championship.

(b) Rationale. The committee believes adding additional boats will encourage the continued growth of the sport.

(c) Budget Impact. $33,900.

(6) Men?s Soccer. Championship format change.

(a) Recommendation. Approve the format to include single games at 16 sites the first weekend of the championship and four-team regionals at four sites the second weekend. There would be no change in the first-round, mid-week games or the third weekend of the championship, which would feature the four-team semi-final and final contests. This would be effective with the 2004 championship.

(b) Rationale. The committee believes this will enhance the championship experience for the student-athlete and prevent any team from having to play three matches in the first four or five days of the championship.

(c) Budget Impact. $58,620 (based on the last three years of travel, officials, game operations and team per diem expenses to the men?s championship sites).

(7) Women?s Soccer. Championship format change.

(a) Recommendation. Approve the format to include single games at 16 sites the first weekend of the NCAA Division III Women?s Soccer Championship and four-team regionals at four sites the second weekend. There would be no change in the first-round, mid-week games or the third weekend of the championship, which would feature the four-team semi-final and final contests, effective with the 2004 championship.

(b) Rationale. The committee believes this will enhance the championship experience for the student-athlete and prevent any team from having to play three matches in the first four or five days of the championship.

(c) Budget Impact. $69,504 (based on the last three years of travel, officials, game operations and team per diem expenses to the women?s championship sites).

(8) Men?s and Women?s Swimming and Diving. Additional official.

(a) Recommendation. Approve the addition of one official at the NCAA Division III Men?s and Women?s Championships.

(b) Rationale. The committee believes the addition of one turn judge is necessary at the championship

(c) Budget Impact. $5,880 ($2,940 for each championship).

(9) Men?s and Women?s Track and Field. Data specialist.

(a) Recommendation. Approve an official data specialist for the NCAA Division III Men?s and Women?s Cross Country, and Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

(b) Rationale. The committee believes this position is essential to running a quality championship. This person would process all the proof-of performance forms for the three championships, as well as the championship results for each event.

(c) Budget Impact. $5,335 for all three championships.

b. January Meeting Preparation.

The committee noted that it would forward a draft of initiatives that were tentatively approved by the committee as well as a prioritized listing of the remaining requests for approval by the Council at its April meeting. The committee reviewed its history of dedicating a tremendous amount of resources to bracket expansion and discussed the importance of addressing per diem and officials' fees in relation to increasing differences between Divisions I and II. The prioritized list of initiatives that will be further reviewed at its January meeting include:

(1) Team per diem ($60 to $65 in 2004-05; $65 to $70 in 2005-06).

(2) Officials fees.

(3) Officials' per diem ($30 to $45 throughout the two years).

(4) Increased travel party for selected team sports (baseball, men?s/women?s basketball, and women?s rowing) to allow all team sports to have five non student-athletes in their travel party.

(5) Increase of per diem days for individual/team sport championships (i.e., provide per diem after a student-athlete has finished competing until the team travel party departs).

(6) Increase number of nonstudent-athletes in travel party for individual/team sports.

(7) Participant awards.

The committee noted that its intent for the top three prioritized budget items is to develop a cycle within the biennial budget process that will address officials? fees equitably in all championships. NCAA staff was directed to research several areas, including the current fee structure for officials in all championships, the history of fee increases within each sport and conference pay scale, etc.

c. Sports Committee Recommendations. The committee approved the following:

(1) Baseball.

(a) Approved automatic qualification to the 2004 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship for the following conferences: American Southwest Conference; Centennial Conference; College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin; Commonwealth Coast Conference; Commonwealth Conference; USA South Athletic Conference; Freedom Conference; Great Northeast Athletic Conference; Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference; Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Lake Michigan Conference; Little East Conference; Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference; Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Midwest Conference; Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; New England Small College Athletic Conference; New England Women?s and Men?s Athletics Conference; New Jersey Athletic Conference; North Coast Athletic Conference; Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference; Northwest Conference; Ohio Athletic Conference; Old Dominion Athletic Conference; Pennsylvania Athletic Conference; Skyline Conference; Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference; St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; State University of New York Athletic Conference; Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association; and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

(b) Approved the following pool allocation for the 2004 championship: Pool A ? 32, Pool B ? 7 and Pool C ? 3.

(2) Men?s Basketball.

(a) Approved automatic qualification to the 2004 NCAA Men?s Basketball Championship for the following conferences: American Southwest Conference; Capital Athletic Conference, Centennial Conference; College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin; Commonwealth Conference; Commonwealth Coast Conference; City University of New York Athletic Conference; Empire 8; Freedom Conference; Great Northeast Athletic Conference; Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference; Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Lake Michigan Conference; Little East Conference; Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference; Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Midwest Conference; Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; New England Small College Athletic Conference; New England Women?s and Men?s Athletic Conference; New Jersey Athletic Conference; North Coast Conference; Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference; Northwest Conference; Ohio Athletic Conference; Old Dominion Athletic Conference; Pennsylvania Athletic Conference; Skyline Conference; Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference; St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; State University of New York Athletic Conference; University Athletic Association; Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association; USA South Athletic Conference; and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

(b) Approved the following pool allocation for the 2004 championship: Pool A ? 36; Pool B ? 6; and Pool C ? 6.

(c) Approved the proposed formula (function of the number of sponsoring institutions in a region divided by the bracket ratio ? 7.56 in 2003) to determine the number of teams to be ranked in each region. No region will have fewer than four ranked teams.

(3)